1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heat exchangers and, more particularly, to improved angularly disposed pivotally-mounted modules or cores for heat exchangers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heat exchangers, and primarily the type of heat exchangers used to cool internal combustion engines either on a moving vehicle or on a fixed stationary frame, must be provided with sufficient capacity to cool the engine by the passage of fluid, such as air, past and around the heat exchange element. In general, the volume of air passing the heat exchange member is the combined air from movement of the vehicle and from the cooling fan driven by the engine. In order to provide sufficient cooling capacity for the engine, it is necessary sometimes to use large fans operating at high speeds which cause vibrations and air noises. By government edict, the noise levels generated by the operation of an engine must be maintained within certain defined limits which limits, in many cases, cannot be met while still maintaining adequate cooling for the vehicle engine.
In addition, many vehicles are operated in areas where there is a considerable amount of flying particles, such as wood chips, leaves, dirt and the like, which particles cling to the heat exchange element and block the passage of air past, around and through the fins, thereby reducing the effective cooling of the vehicle engine.
To prevent the buildup of debris in the cooling fins of the heat exchanger, a rotating anti-clog screen was proposed by Boyajian in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,854, whereby a screen is moved past the front of the heat exchange core, which screen collects the debris and carries it on past the cooling surface of the heat exchange core. The anti-clog screen is a separate element that is separately operated. The Howard U.S. Pat. No. 2,310,086 describes a system and apparatus whereby a heat exchange core is subdivided into segments which are each pivotally mounted. The segments are interconnected so that they can be rotated to open a space between adjacent segments and to permit the cooling air to flow past the segments at an angle. Howard does not provide an increased cooling surface area, nor does he provide for self-cleaning the segments of the core.